Is Predestination Biblical—or Just Philosophy Forced on the Bible?

There are also criticisms that question whether the concept of predestination is Biblically sustained or whether it is rather an imposition of philosophical categories onto the biblical text. Some critics argue that Calvin influenced by neoplatanism and medieval philosophy forces the biblical text to conform to his preconceived philosophical categories. Calvin responds that he is simply following what scripture teaches. Ephesians 1:4 clearly affirms that we were chosen in him before the foundation of the world. Romans -30 presents a chain of predestination. Those whom God predestined, he also called. Those he called, he justified. And those he justified, he glorified. Calvin argues that he is merely systematizing what scripture already says. An important criticism came from Roman Catholics who argued that Calvinist predestination undermined the importance of the sacraments and sacramental grace. If salvation is predetermined by God, what is the role of the sacraments? Calvin responds that the sacraments are the ordinary means through which God communicates his grace to the elect. They are not the cause of election, but they are instruments through which election is realized in history. There is also the historical question of supraapsarianism versus infrolapsarianism. Supralapsarianism, the position that God predestined Adam’s fall as part of his plan for salvation, was considered by some as an extreme position that Calvin did not fully sustain. Calvin is more cautious here, recognizing the mystery. For him, what is important is that God is sovereign and that his salvation reaches us in Christ, whether we completely understand the relationship between predestination and God’s permission of the fall or not. A contemporary criticism is that Calvinist predestination is culturally dated, a product of a specific historical period, and that modern theology should move away from it. Some argue that modern understanding of freedom and individual autonomy makes predestination in congruent with contemporary sensibility. Calvin was not in a position to respond to this criticism, but his successors argue that biblical truth does not change because cultures change.